Slow start, ‘cute’ play dooms Sharks in loss to Columbus Blue Jackets

Bad things usually happen to the San Jose Sharks when they’re not moving their feet.

It gets even worse when they only manage a handful of shots on net.

The Sharks were a step behind the Columbus Blue Jackets throughout the first period on Thursday, then were badly outshot in the second period in what became a 4-1 loss at Nationwide Arena.

Tyler Toffoli scored the lone goal for the Sharks, who allowed first-period goals to Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson and never fully recovered as they lost for the fourth time in five games.

Looking to build upon their 6-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, the Sharks instead managed just eight shots through two periods and 19 for the game, which matched a season-low.

“Our puck play was not good,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “Getting into people and being physical, we were just off all night. Could not get it going. We didn’t get it in the offensive zone. We wanted to be too cute, and didn’t want to put pucks to the net.

“We tried to be something we’re (not).”

Goalie Alexandar Georgiev also allowed a goal to James van Riemsdyk in the second period but still might have been the Sharks’ best player as he finished with 30 saves. In his last four games, Georgiev now has a .916 save percentage.

“It felt pretty good today,” said Georgiev, who has enjoyed working with Sharks goalie coach Thomas Speer. “I’m pretty comfortable with what we’re working on.”

Van Riemsdyk added an empty netter with 2:01 left in regulation time to round out the scoring.

Toffoli, Nico Sturm, William Eklund, and Macklin Celebrini all had quality chances to score in the first two periods, but the Sharks, despite three power-play opportunities, were held to two goals or less for the seventh time in the last nine games. Their road trip continues on Saturday against the New York Islanders.

“I don’t think we were very good executing anything,” Toffoli said. “Passes, forechecking. We weren’t breaking pucks out. Turning pucks over, and they capitalized.”

The Sharks were down 2-0 after the first period after a pair of miscues led to the Blue Jackets goals.

With the puck inside the Columbus zone, a shot attempt by Sharks defenseman Jan Rutta was blocked by Zach Werenski, who raced up the ice with the puck, carried it into the Sharks’ zone, and sent it over to Fantilli, who beat Georgiev for his 11th goal of the season at the 12:11 mark.

Just 4:06 later, Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro, deep in his zone, won a puck battle with Johnson before he carried it behind his net. But Ferraro could not connect with defense partner Timothy Liljegren on a pass attempt. Columbus forward Sean Kuraly picked up the loose puck and found Johnson, whose shot beat Georgiev for his 12th goal.

It marked the second straight game the Sharks had been outplayed and outskated in the first period. On Tuesday in Detroit, the Sharks were outshot 12-6 but still held a 2-0 lead. Thursday, the Sharks were outshot 13-6, while Columbus held a 25-11 edge in shot attempts.

“There was a very direct message,” between the first and second period, Warsofsky said. “and I’m going to keep that within the group.”

The Sharks loss spoiled a milestone night for defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who played in his 1,300th NHL game. Vlasic is just the 21st defenseman in NHL history to play in at least 1,300 games.

Vlasic, 37, could have reached this milestone before Thursday. Along with the league going through a work stoppage and a pandemic, Vlasic had his share of injuries, including one that kept him out of the first half of this season, and was a healthy scratch over 20 times last season.

Still, Vlasic wouldn’t be here if he had not shown that he could play in the NHL at 19.

Vlasic, a second-round selection by the Sharks in 2005, made his NHL debut on Oct. 6, 2006, at what was then HP Pavilion in San Jose. He had 20:54 of ice time as the Sharks beat the St. Louis Blues 5-4 in overtime on a goal by Curtis Brown.

Vlasic said he knew then that he could play at this level.

“I was playing on the top pair, I think it was with (Scott) Hannan maybe. I was playing on the right side, too,” Vlasic recalled earlier this month. “We were playing St Louis, I get on the ice and I’m playing against Keith Tkachuk and Bill Guerin and shutting them down in my first game. I believe we won in overtime.

“I was sitting in my car after the game, and I was like, ‘OK, I can play in this league.’ Right away, first game, I’m playing against two guys that I watched growing up, two guys that are huge, two guys that in 2006 you can probably get away with a lot more than you can now.”

Vlasic played 81 games that year.

“The more games I play, the more fun I have,” Vlasic said of reaching the milestone. “It just means I’ve been doing what I love for a very long time and I’m fortunate to do that. And what I think is cool is not just playing 1,300 games but doing it with one team, and hopefully a lot more.

“Obviously, not another 1,000, but the rest of the year, next year. So, I feel privileged to say I played that many games with one team.”